Apple Sued Over Fake Crypto Wallet App on App Store

Apple has been sued over allegations of negligence in maintaining the security of its App Store, after three users claimed they lost more than $1.8 million (approximately Rp32.5 billion) by downloading a counterfeit cryptocurrency wallet available on the store. In the lawsuit filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the three plaintiffs claim they were deceived into downloading an app named Sparrow Wallet. However, the app they downloaded turned out to be a fake, as the official Sparrow Bitcoin Wallet is not available for iOS devices. The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs transferred their Bitcoin assets into the application, resulting in the loss of significant amounts of the virtual currency. Plaintiff James Ramirez reportedly suffered a loss of around $875,000 (approximately Rp15.8 billion), Christopher Ellis around $840,000 (approximately Rp15.2 billion), and Jalen Delgado lost about $120,000 (approximately Rp2.1 billion). The suit also highlights Apple’s longstanding claim that the App Store is safer because all its applications are reviewed before publication. The plaintiffs argue that Apple has positioned itself and its products and services as offering a superior level of security and trust compared to any competing technology company. They state that the company also provides a guarantee of app security for software distributed through the App Store by maintaining exclusive control over the applications allowed on Apple devices. Through this exclusive control, Apple is deemed to have structured its platform to ensure consumers are entirely dependent on its promises of security and reliability. Furthermore, the plaintiffs accuse Apple of being aware of the fake app’s presence on the App Store. This accusation references public criticism from the creator of the genuine Sparrow Bitcoin Wallet, Craig Raw, who previously stated that Apple allowed the imitation Sparrow Wallet app to remain available on its store. The plaintiffs are also requesting that Apple provide clearer warnings regarding the risks of applications available on the App Store. Apple declined to comment on the legal proceedings. However, the company stated it will promptly remove apps found to be impersonating other apps and violating App Store guidelines. Apple noted that there are currently no imitation Sparrow Wallet apps available on the App Store. The company also cited a recent analysis of its ecosystem showing that throughout 2025, it rejected more than 371,000 app submissions for mimicking other apps, containing spam, or being potentially misleading to users.